Residents blast proposed Griswold gun range

Tuesday

GRISWOLD — Hundreds of people heard state officials explain details of a state police gun range proposed for a site on Lee Road that has drawn strong opposition from residents.

Opponents were out in force at the meeting Tuesday in the auditorium at Griswold High School. Speaker after speaker spoke against the state's proposal. Each were greeted when they finished with enthusiastic applause.

"The range on Lee Road does not suit our needs," Griswold resident Steven Douglas said. Douglas asked State Police Lt. Marc Petruzzi to have 30 troopers fire weapons at once at the site so the noise can be evaluated.

"I'd like to talk about how much the people of this town and this district are against this gun range," state Sen. Heather Somers, R-Groton, said. Residents chose to live here because they want to enjoy "the pristine state forest" and seek peace and quiet, she said.

"We want our state police to be as trained as they possibly can," Somers said. "We do feel there are alternatives that the state police can use. ... Alternative sites are not different placements of the buildings on the same site. We're from the Quiet Corner, but we're not stupid."

"The people from this district do not want it here, and they're going to fight it every step of the way, I can tell you that," Somers said.

"It seems like we've been left out of the communication chain," Griswold First Selectman Todd Babbitt said. He said he is concerned the gun range will hurt the town's economic development. "They can't afford it," Babbitt said of an estimated cost as high as $30 million.

"I was the dummy who opened his mouth and said this might be a good site," said state Rep. Kevin Skulczyck, who was Griswold first selectman when he proposed the site as a possibility for a gun range two and a half years ago. Skulczyck said he quickly changed his mind when the strong opposition developed.

He said the administration of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, however, has refused to look at better alternatives.

"The forest is supposed to be a quiet place," former state Rep. Steve Mikutel said. He said no one believes alternatives don't exist. "We just don't believe that."

"These are their woods and they care deeply for it," said Bob Panko of Voluntown. "State officials are imposing their will on an unwilling populace."

"The citizens of Griswold and all of Connecticut deserve better," said Pam Patalano, chairman and founder of Save Pachaug Forest. "The people are angry."

Tamara Sterns, who lives in North Stonington, said not only neighbors are opposed to the project out of concern for Pachaug Forest. "It's a treasure of our state," she said. "This is where families in the state of Connecticut can get that camping experience."

Lynn Cassidy of Griswold said she got married in the forest. "Thank God no one was shooting at us," she said.

Members of Friends of Pachaug Forest staffed a table outside the auditorium, where they explained drawbacks to the proposal and signed up new members.

Before the meeting, members of Save Pachaug Forest, carrying signs opposing the gun range, held a rally and hiked along Slater Avenue.

Mikutel and Voluntown First Selectman Tracey Hanson and her family were among those who joined the march. Hanson said the gun range, which borders Pachaug State Forest and is less than half a mile from the Voluntown border, will hurt Voluntown's economic development, because camping and other recreational sites in the forest are mostly close to the Griswold site.

Stephen Lecco, of GZA GeoEnvironmental, which is performing an environmental impact evaluation during the summer and fall, said the study is expected to be completed early next year.

He said the study will consider about 20 different environmental factors, as well as answer concerns raised during Tuesday's meeting and in written comments afterward. A public hearing will take place after the evaluation has been finished and a report written.

Petruzzi said the existing state police gun range in Simsbury is inadequate. It doesn't allow active shooter training, he said, and is subject to flooding. Floods in 2007 and 2011 severely damaged the facility.

"The current range facility in Simsbury is not sustainable," Petruzzi said.

In looking for a replacement, more than 4,000 sites across the state of 100 acres or more were evaluated, Lecco said.

A National Guard range in East Haven is unsuitable for state police training, Petruzzi said, because it doesn't allow specific training state police need and is not available every day.

The 110-acre Lee Road site proposed for the gun range is about half wooded and half farmland, Lecco said. The state is proposing four alternative concepts for the Griswold property, which involve putting a classroom building, parking and three different ranges on different parts of the property.

"The purpose of this facility is to present the best training possible for the men and women of the Connecticut State Police," Petruzzi said.

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